I am about 3/4 of the way through Sinai Tapestry, and while I was admittedly perplexed by the book's strangeness for the first 100 pages or so, I am in awe of Whittemore's imagination and prose style. He writes such fluid, readable prose, yet there are so many sentences that I read over two or three times, just to take in all the nuances and lyrical beauty. It really is deceptively simple. I can't really form an impression of the book yet. It is so surreal and unlike anything I have ever read. Not sure what i feel about the characters either. I guess my only criticisms are that most of the characters are hard to like, and, although I have about 80 pages left, i am not sure if there is a coherent plot in there somewhere(and i don't usually care for plot as much as characters/prose style).

Is Sinai Tapestry merely an introductory book, or is it meant to stand alone? Does the plot of Sinai continue in Jerusalem Poker, or is that just another story with some of the same characters reappearing?